How To Decide When To Go

Advice on Seasons, Rates, Crowds, and Weather

The toughest part of planning a Disney World vacation is deciding when to go. There are many factors involved, such as when your schedule will allow you to go, when you want to go, and when you can afford your favorite resort. The weather and the crowds may also factor into your decision.

We can give you a lot of advice (as well as our favorite time to visit Disney World) but we cannot make this decision for you. All of the factors involved make it difficult to decide, but we hope that after reading the information here, it will make your decision easier!

On each page there is a yearly breakdown for that category. Use this information to determine the best time for you to visit Disney World.

Resort Costs

Usually the first restricting factor in a Disney Vacation is the budget. The resort often winds up bearing the bulk of the cost, although there are several ways to reduce this. (By staying in a standard room, during a value season, at a value resort for example.)

Disney World has five pricing seasons, Value, Regular, Summer, Peak, and Holiday. (In order from cheapest to most expensive.) There are also special prices for certain holidays (such as President's Day or Easter) and sometimes on certain weekends there are special "weekend" prices.

These seasons often change every year, so on our resort costs page we have generalized the data. If you need to know prices for specific dates for a specific resort (because oftentimes, seasons vary between resorts as well) make sure you use Disney's tool so that you get the most up-to-date data.

Crowds

The next factor we like to use to determine when to go, is how crowded the parks will be during our stay. Crowds can make many things in Disney World difficult, from transportation, to waiting for rides, to dining.

However, the times that are the least crowded are that way for a reason - it is often the most difficult time to go. (For example, the first week of school.) The information on this page gives you a general idea of when the parks are most crowded. Make sure you use this as a factor in your decision if you want to avoid the Disney World crowds.

Temperature and Rainfall

The next factor we like to consider is the weather. During the heat of summer, it is usually easier to become fatigued and dehydrated. This can often decrease the amount of time you can enjoy in the park without running back to the resort for a swim in the pool!

Also, rainy seasons can dampen (no pun intended!) your day in the parks. This page generalizes the temperature information and rainfall information for Disney World so that you can use this information to help determine when you would like to take your next Disney World vacation!